Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions

Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions, or B.U.G.A. U.P. is an Australian artistic group that detourns billboard advertising that promotes something they deem unhealthy.

The group started in inner-city Sydney in October 1979 and has been active ever since, although the late 70's and early-mid 1980s is considered their most active period. Many of the Graffitists came from professional and university-educated backgrounds.

The group's founder was Bill Snow, who continues to be active in anti-smoking and littering campaigns.

The group aimed mainly at Cigarette and Alcohol advertising, often blanking out letters and adding others to promote their view that the product is unhealthy. Cola and soft drink ads were also targeted.

The interesting thing about this group, is that it didn't really exist in the sense that it had members or meetings. Graffitists "joined" by signing the BUGAUP name to their work. Anybody could therefore be a "member". BUGAUP graffiti spread rapidly across Australia and then overseas.

Current NSW politician Arthur Chesterfield-Evans was a member of BUGAUP before entering politics. [http://www.chesterfieldevans.com/html/aaw_parl_speech_20020505o_antiterrorlawsnewcastle.html]

Another well-known BUGAUP member was the late Lord Bloody Wog Rolo.

ee also

*Billboard Liberation Front

External links

* [http://www.bugaup.org/ Official Website]
* [http://tobacco.health.usyd.edu.au/tds/results.jsp?query=bugaup&set=ndoc University of Sydney's BUGAUP images and article archive]